Olivia | M/V Sea Lion | September 3rd, 2024 | 12:30pm

We are officially running our daily classic tours aboard M/V Sea Lion which tends to be a favorite vessel of our naturalist staff. Starting off the day, it sure felt like fall as we headed south into the fog. After a brief stop at Goose Island to check out some Harbor Seals thermoregulating on the shoreline, Double Crested Cormorants nesting on top of the island, and Pelagic Cormorants drying out their wings, we headed into the Strait of Juan...

I can’t think of a better Saturday afternoon spent than on the deck of MV Osprey! We departed Friday Harbor for our afternoon tour and headed south down San Juan Channel towards Whale Rocks where we encountered our first cetacean of the day -- a Minke Whale! The Minke Whale is a type of baleen whale, which unlike our toothed whales in the Salish Sea such as the orca, has baleen keratin plates that allows them to filter feed. These mammals eat...

Laura C. | M/V Kestrel | 8/14/2019 | 11:00am

This morning’s adventure whale watch and wildlife tour was simply outstanding!  Captain Gabe directed our vessel, Kestrel, southbound towards Hein Bank.  This area is a great spot for wildlife viewing!  There are a few shallow banks south of San Juan Island, rising above the deeper sea floor to about 50 feet.  These areas tend to congregate dense amounts of small schooling fish along the ledges of the bank, where they prefer to reside near...

As I drove down to our Friday Harbor location today to go into work, the weather didn't look super. However, right before we went to un-dock the sun decided to make an appearance! It ended up being a gorgeous day on the water today- little to no wind, sunny, clear skies, and beautiful wildlife.

As we headed out the San Juan Channel and into Cattle Pass, we encountered a small Minke whale feeding on small schools of Sand Lance, Krill, and Herring. Minke whales aren't normally found...